Hana Yori Dango

Synopsis:

Hana Yori Dango, or Boys Over Flowers, is the very popular Japanese young-girl manga first published in print form from 1992 through 2003. This first publication of a relatively simple fish-out-of-water, boy-meets-girl, rich-versus-poor set in high school has mushroomed into practically an industry unto itself. Apart from being the champion best-selling manga of its kind in Japan, responsible for more than 50 million copies, the plot has been transplanted into two live-action movies, an anime film, an anime series, and three live-action television series in Taiwan (Meteor Garden), in Japan, and most recently in Korea (Boys Over Flowers). This doesn't even mention the many young actors and actresses whose careers started as a result, or the musical group F4, the Flower Four, who took their name as a crossover from the name of the rich boys' gang in the original story. Another announced television version produced in the Philippines is a signal that the fascination for the characters of Hana Yori Dango remains undimmed.

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Featured Critics Reviews

There are a lot of plot descriptions, so I won't just another and spit out the same. Onto the review!
Japanese drama is complicated. It tries to get to the point, using enough to say enough sort of thing, that it does not drag compared to Korean dramas, no "fluff" roaming around so that you would think some things should have been cut and if it was it would have been well-rounded. But since Japanese drama is what it is, it...

'Hana Yori Dango', the Japanese live action of the much-beloved anime/manga of the same name, delivers the goods in a surprisingly delightful 9-episode drama that blows its Taiwanese compatriot, 'Meteor Garden', completely out of the water where acting, cinematography, direction, and set are concerned.
Synopsis
Makino Tsukushi, an ordinary girl from a middle-class family, is enrolled in the richest and most exclusive school in all of Japan: the much admired and envied Eitoku High...

The hype of ‘Meteor Garden’ drove me to watch the series but coming out from it, it left me wondering what the hype was all about besides F4 (the band). Having never read the manga, there is nothing I could compare ‘Hana Yori Dango’ to. The only thing I can say is the series was great. It cut out all the drag on bits in MG while keeping a smooth story flow. It was short, precise, hilarious and knows exactly what the audience wants to see showing me what the real hype of a series is all about. Therefore it definitely receives a 10 on my ratings.

Matsumoto Jun was very good in this series. I watched MG and, even if Tsukasa isn't tall compared to Jerry Yan, when he was bullying everyone, it was believable. All of the actors in the drama were very good: the jokes were funny and the dramatic scenes were really touching. In my opinion, way, way better than MG & MG2 combined.